Name: CWMHIR Location: Abbey Cwmhir
County: Powys Foundation: 1143 Mother house: Whitland Relocation: 1176 Founder: Cadwallon ap Madog Dissolution: March 1537 Prominent members: Access: Open to the public
Cwmhir was founded in 1143 and was settled with
a colony of monks from Whitland. The
original settlement was at
Dyvanner (now Ty faenor). It seems that the community was not very
successful at this site and moved to Cwmhir just over thirty years
later.(1) Cwmhir was a gift of land
from Cadwallon ap Madog, the chief lord of the Welsh district of
cantref of Maelienydd. He was killed
three years later by the Marcher lord Roger Mortimer, who then
assumed patronage of the abbey.(2) Cwmhir
was the most remote of all the Welsh
Cistercian houses and was described at the beginning of the thirteenth
century as situated in a mountainous district remote from
parish churches.(3) The
monks of Cwmhir Abbey were confronted with a problem of conflicting
loyalties: the abbey was endowed by both Welsh and Anglo-Norman
lords, and whilst being Welsh through and through, it was important
that the monks showed allegiance to the English king. This dilemma
caused many problems for the community over the years. In 1228,
for example, royal forces burnt one of its granges for supporting
the Welsh cause. Three years later, the English army was apparently
tricked into an ambush by a Cwmhir monk. In revenge Henry II
burned
one of the abbey granges and levied a fine of £200 on the
abbot.(4)
The abbey also suffered from some internal problems.
In 1195 the lay-brothers of
Cwmhir stole their abbots horses
because he had forbidden them to drink beer. The offending monks
were to make their way to Clairvaux on
foot and abide by the decision of the abbot of Clairvaux.(5) The
abbey was originally intended for sixty monks but, after the
Welsh wars, it is unlikely that the abbey
was wealthy enough to support such a large community. The economic
difficulties of the fourteenth century, alongside heavy damage
incurred
during the revolt of Owain Glyn Dwr (1401-2), also greatly impoverished
the monastery. In 1535, there was a tiny community of three
and
an annual income assessed at just £25.(6) The
house was surrendered two years later. The site later passed to
the Fowler family who
defended the property for the royalist cause during the civil war
of the 1640s. Despite their best efforts, the house was unfortunately
stormed and wrecked in 1644. Modern excavation of the ruins began
in the late nineteenth century and the remains of the abbey, including
parts of the church and the earthworks of other monastic buildings,
are now freely accessible at all reasonable times.